In our previous issue, we drew your attention to the outcomes of the Halifax conference last November. Much of the debate and many of the issues raised centred around policy and the initiatives that governments must take to meet their mandates for an educated and enlightened citizenry.

Active and systematic use of information and communication technologies can be divided, in a very general sense, into issues of policy and implementation. The debate on what comes first, policy or practice, is as contentious an issue as a debate on the chicken and the egg problem. That both are related is undoubtedly clear; yet what comes first?

when projects are planned and evaluated, one often fmds the gap between the plan and the actual implementation to be an area full of landmines and heartbreaks. The ultimate result-things do not turn out the way they were planned and few directions emerge giving us ideas for the future. What is more, we cannot even assume that what worked under one condition would be replicable in any other situation, time, or location.

It then becomes necessary to draw lessons from existing practices and to determine what means we have of reaching our goals. For that, a start is an understanding of where we are and where we wish to proceed.

To draw together the threads Irom the rich and varied experience in open and distance learning, COL has been working toward the development of benchmarks of good practices, by collaborating with a large number of Commonwealth institutions in different regions. Issues of good practice are also emerging within regional symposia and conferences. In our guest column, we have requested Prof. V.S. Prasad, Acting Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, a highly experienced distance educator to explore current realities and future perspectives in distance education in India.

We highlight the activities of IGNOU's International Cell, in its effort to promote the exchange of knowledge and scholarship in Asia. In our case study, we focus on the unique experience in children's television at Ekushey Television, Bangladesh.

Our usual features are also there, from regional news to technology tracking, as we scan websites, journals and worldwide media to bring you news about the use of media in education. And in an unusual feature, we asked two Canadian interns to write about lessons they learned from their on the ground involvement in development activties in India.

We hope you find this issue interesting and informative and we urge you to send us your comments.

Dr. Usha Vyasulu Reddi

Distance Education in India :
Present Scenario and Future Horizons



Prof. V. S. Prasad
Acting Vice- Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University , New Delhi

One of the major issues facing distance educators has been the need to ensure total quality management in all aspects of distance education, from policy, the design of curriculum to the use of media and the provision of student support services.

COL has been focussing on developing benchmarks in quality assurance as one of its major objectives and has in the past few months catalyzed several fora in different parts of the world to develop such standards. The author of our guest column has been afacilitator at some of these meetings.

Prof. V. S. Prasad, currently Acting Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open Universit y, New Delhli, is acknowledged as one of the most experienced Indian professionals in the area of distance education. With his unique knowledge of the Indian distance scenario. he is ideally in a position to introspect and examine the various issues facing distance education in India today and in the future.

The Context:

Before discussing the subject proper, let me briefly present my understanding of the macro view of the Indian education scenario as a contextual background of distance education. India, a complex social formation of about 1000 million people, the second most populous country in the world, represents rich cultural heritage, great diversity and uneven development. Some of its national and contextual features have implications for the emerging frontiers of education, including open learning and distance education.

The important contextual elements of the Indian education scenario include:

Culturally education is perceived as' a highly valued possession,



Though traditionally education was considered the prerogative of a few classes/castes, after independence, the national perception and the constitutional goal became "education for all";



Since independence, a vast network of educational infrastructure has been created to meet the growing demand for education;



The low literacy rate (52% in the 1991 census), high dropout rates (75% at school stage), limited access to higher education (around 6% of 17-23 age group) also characterize the educational scene in India;



Education in India is mainly a state provided and state managed activity with marginal contribution from private and non-governmental sectors; From the 80s, distance education methodologies have been extensively used to provide educational opportunities to large numbers; The globalization of education is a recent phenomenon, particularly after the opening of the Indian market in 1991 and

The Challenges:

Since independence, India has made great strides in the field of education. The improved levels of literacy; the impressive growth of primary, secondary and higher education institutions, the establishment of a large number of high quality scientific, technical and professional institutions and the creation of a large pool of scientific and technical manpower are some of the achievements of independent Indian's educational system. In spite of these achievements, some of the challenges persist. They are:

How to provide education to all?
How to reach the unreached? How to make education socially relevant and individually useful?
How to maintain the quality and competitive edge of our education system?
How to provide lifelong education to the entire population?
How to retain the cultural roots of the education system in the context of globalization?
How to generate the necessary resources for education?
How to use technology for mass education and training?
How to retain the "public good" character of education in the context of marketization of education?
How to design and develop an educational system for a knowledge society?

Public policy, an intent of the government to "do or not to do," is an important source to understand the societal response to the problem. The National Policy on Education (1986) states that"the future thrust will be in the direction of open and distance learning." The policy concerns of distance education at the national level can be discerned mainly from the Programme of Action, 1992, and the Report of the CABE Committee on Distance Education, 1994. From these documents it is clear that distance education is considered an appropriate response to many challenges listed earlier. Distance education is a paradigm shift. Some of the elements of this paradigm shift are:

From exclusion to inclusion
From classroom to anywhere
From teacher to learner
From fixed time to anytime
From "you leam what we offer" to "we offer you what you want to leam."
From education as one-time activity to education as a lifelong activity.
From educational institution as a place to educational institution as an arrangement
From teacher as instructor to teacher as factlitator
From lecture-centric delivery mode to technology-centric delivery mode

This understanding of the paradigm shift is a useful framework for us to assess present practices and shape the future of distance education provision in India.

Practice - One system, many Models

The practice of distance education in India is characterized by diversities in goals, mission and methodologies. Purely print material based systems (some correspondence institutions) to on-line programmes (some programmes of IGNOU and others) co-exist in the field, with many in between variants. In India the first generation print-based system, second generation multi-media system, third generation interactive media and the fourth generation virtual learning system co-exist. As Indian society also lives simultaneously in different generation, different generation of distance education systems also co-exist. IGNOU and a few other institutions are moving from a mainly print-based system to an electronic media-based system. The University recently launched the virtual campus initiative and is offering a few on-line information technology education and training programmes.

The use of interactive television Tor distance learning (also called one-way video, two-way audio teleconferencing) has been employed through the Training and Development Communication Channel (TDCC) to reach learners/participants spread over large distances at a number of locations. The dedicated education TV channel, Gyan Darshan launched with IGNOU as the nodal agency has become a full fledged 24-hour channel. The Gyan Vani Project is expected to culminate in the use of 40 radio stations for FM broadcasts for education and development. These media tools have enormous potential to increase the provision of education and to give it a flexible, interactive, individual, lifelong learning context.

In terms of institutional arrangements, distance education provision is made possible by:

Conventional universities (directorates of distance education/correspondence course institutes)
Open universities Virtual institutions
Private initiatives
International initiatives

Future Horizons:

Keen observers of the current telecommunication revolution have coined the phrase "the death of distance." Unlike the industrial society of the past, in the any-time-anywhere communities of the future, working, learning, and living can be distributed throughout the community. "The space of organizations in the informational economy is increasingly a space of flows." I will now explore the implications of the emerging knowledge-based societies for the future of distance education provision. Neither am I a trained futurologist nor a professional astrologer to predict the future. Only as a keen observer and participant in the system, I will attempts to predict some future trends in this area.

Everybody in Distance Education:

Distance education is a philosophy and practice whose time has come. We will therefore find that everybody will want to initiate and participate in distance education. Distance education methodologies are being enthusiastically adopted for a range of applications by varied agencies both governmental and nongovernmental. private and public. Distance education methods also will be more extensively used by conventional systems as a supplement to enrich their own teaching-learning practices. Training of trainers and functionaries is a key application area. Community awareness building and other non-formal initiatives in health, agriculture and vocational training constitute other crucial capacity building applications in distance education. Experts and resource persons from across the country can participate in such initiatives employing distance education methodologies. Distance education has become attractive especially in situations where large and highly distributed learner groups have to be targeted primarily because of its cost effectiveness in contrast to prohibitively expensive face-to-face modalities.

Electronic Distance Education Institutions:

In the future we will increasingly see a transition from correspondence institutions to open universities to virtual universities. There is no doubt that the Net will radically transform education. The Net provides a highly distributed learning environment with unprecedented tools and resources for independent and collaborative learning. In an interesting exploration of the role open universities can play in shaping the transition to electronic delivery, the Indira Gandhi National Open University launched the "virtual campus initiative" for learners enrolled for its computer courses. The initiative focuses on the use of Internet, teleconferencing and CD-ROMs to enable learners to freely access course material and interact with faculty, tutors and peers. This initiative has exciting possibilities for shaping the future of education provision. The virtual campus avoids the existing barriers to on-line access by combining satellite mediated teleconferencing, CD-ROMs and computer based delivery of courses. Interactivity is an important characteristic of the virtual campus.

It is interesting to reflect on the fact that a virtual campus is far closer to the conventional mode rather than the traditional distance education mode based on print. As a result, conventional system-based teachers may prefer this mode to the traditional distance mode. Historically open universities evolved to overcome the institutional limitations of the correspondence institutes. Virtual universities may overtake open universities to overcome the structural limitations of open universities. In our culture we are finding it very difficult to introduce changes in existing structures. Hence people prefer to abandon the old structures and create new structures. In virtual universities teachers find themselves less alienated. They need to leam the use of new technologies which enables them to reach out to a larger, wider learner audience. They remain at the forefront, interacting directly with the learner unlike in the print-centric traditional distance mode.

Emphasis on Programme Relevance:

We will increasingly find that programme relevance will be a crucial consideration. We will move from mass production of small brands (Fordist) to flexible production of small units of large variety (Post-Fordist). The goal will'be to develop employable capacities and hence there will emphasis on short duration skill development programmes. This will be a useful development in breaking new new ground in outcome based education and reducing the high levels of underemployment and unemployment in the country.

Concluding Observations:

There will be no one right way to offer distance education programmes. We have travelled a long distance from F.W. Taylor's "one best way of doing everything". The complex and divergent Indian society requires different models of distance education to meet its educational and training needs. The only requirement is that every model should be"fit for purpose" and aim at perfection in its ways. There should be convergence to meet the generic needs and divergence to meet the specific needs. The local value addition is one of the best ways to retain relevance and face stiff competition in a globalized context.

The individuals or the institutions can play an important role only if they are in tune with the needs of the time. Our challenge is to find out the needs of the time and develop the necessary com,r petencies to realize them.

References

1. Government of India. (1994) ..................... Report of the CABE Committee on Distance Education, New Delhi.
2. http//:www.ignou.org
3. http//:www.nos.org
4. IGNOU, (2001), Profile 2001, .....IGNOU, New Delhi
5. John Daniel, (2000) Open Learning at a Point of Turning, Keynote Address ICDE Asian Regional Conference 3-5, November, 2000, New Delhi
6. M.G.K.Menon, (2001), Convocation Address, Xll Convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University, 3, March, 200}, New Delhi
7. Marmar Mukhopadhyay and Madhu Parhar (eds), (1999) Indian Education: Development since Independence, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
8. Otto Peters, (2000), The Flexible and Virtual University; Pedagogical Models. Keynote Address, ICDE Asian Regional Conference. 3-5 November, 2000. New Delhi.
9. Santosh Panda (ed.),( 1999), Open and Distance Education: Policies, Practices and Quality Concerns, Aravali Books International (P) Ltd., New Delhi
10. University Grant Commission, (1992) Programme of Action, 1992, G01. UGC, New'Delhi
11. V. C. Kulandaiswamy, (2000), Prof. G. Ram reddy Memorial Lecture, VII Annual Conference of Indian Distance Education Association, 27-29 April. 2000. ,NEW-Delhi
12. V. S. Prasad, (2001), Vice Chancellor s Report, XII Convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University. 3 March, 2001, New Delhi

The International Cell at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was operationalised in mid-1996 and was assigned the task of promoting the academic programmes of IGNOU outside the country by establishing bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation and exchanges at the international level.

In offering its academic programmes abroad through distance mode, IGNOU identifies a local institution as partner and utilizes the infrastructure available with the institution for providing most of the services to the students. International Cell assesses the competence of the local institution in supporting a sizeable student body and also monitors its activities. Such a mechanism enables IGNOU to make available iproducts and services to students through partner institutions without being directly involved in any operation. The broad framework for the partnership arrangement is settled through a Memorandum of Understanding that defines the obligations of the respective partners.

The course material package includes, besides print material, course related audio-video tapes/CD-ROMS that are made available to each student. Indian Missions abroad assist International Cell in the conduct of the term end examinations. The counselling and tutorial support to the students is provided through the local resource persons identified by the partner institution. International Cell arranges for the orientation of the resource persons to the distance education system as practiced by IGNOU as well as to the curriculum of IGNOU. At present IGNOU's academic programmes are offered in UAE, Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman and Doha in the Gulf Region.

Among the Indian Ocean rim countries; Mauritius in collaboration with Mauritius College of Air; in Seychelles in collaboration with Govt. of Seychelles and in Maldives in collaboration with Govt. of Republic of Maldives. In Africa, the academic programmes are offered in Ethiopia and Liberia in collaboration with the UNESCO International Institute tor Capacity Building in Africa, Addis Ababa. Collaborative agreements have been entered with Hanoi Open University, Vietnam and University of Distance Education, Myanmar for enrolling students at IGNOU.

Recently IGNOU's academic programmes are on offer in Singapore as well. Management and Commerce studies. Computer and Information Technology programmes. Tourism studies, Eibrary and Information Sciences, Higher and Distance Education and Nursing are the sought-after areas of study that are currently offered in the above countries.


Academic counsellor of B.Sc. Nursing Programme at
Maldives with resource person of IGNOU

For Furthur Details

Deputy Director.
The International Cell,
Indira Gandhi National Open Universiy,
Maidan Garhi, New Delhi, India 110068
Telephone:+91-11-6862707
Fax: +91-11-6865933
or
contact by E-mail at vvraghavan@ignou.ac.in http//:www.ignou.org

Introduction:

Mukta Khabor has been coined "the voice of the young people;" a news-based programme representing Bangladeshi youth between the ages of 12 and 16 as the TV news programme by young people and for young people.

Ekushey Television Studios in Dhaka (ETV) runs the weekly Mukta Khabor launched on September 2,2000. The project, jointly funded by UNICEF, Save the Children, Sweden and ETV, airs every Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and repeated at 10:20 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Background:

Mukta Khabor, is produced in its entirety by 32 young Bangladeshi reporters/journalists (boys and girls from varying social backgrounds).

While Mukta Khabor is produced under the banner of the Ekushey Television Education and the Social Affairs Department, it is managed mainly by two ETV senior producers. The team of young reporters was given special training by journalists from ETV so that they would be capable of running the show on their own.

The Selection Process:

The MK team was selected from an initial input of nearly 800 applicants. In the first round, 209 were short listed through written and verbal tests as well as a selection of other challenges, including theatre games.

Ultimately, 32 were chosen on the basis of merit and skill. Of these 32 reporters/journalists, 16 come from what can be termed the underprivileged section of society. The team has an equal gender balance, and each member is entitled to equal rights and opportunities for assignments (both in the field, presenting and/or interviewing in the studios).

Why It's Unique:

The young Mukta Khabor (MK) team runs their newsroom their way. Researching, selecting topics, preparing and producing news and other feature content is done entirely bythe Bangladeshi team. The 32 youth are responsible for everything from selection of topics, setting the news agenda, and seeing their stories through to broadcast week after week.

Mukta Khabor is a truly unique and successful venture in the broadcasting history of Bangladesh. From day one, it has turned out to be one of the country's top hit programmes.

This positive public feedback has instilled a genuine boost in confidence for all the team members and has had a direct impact in the programme's continued progress and further development.

MK news teams now travel fiv quently around the country, reporting and presenting on a wide range of topics.

These include:

National and International news
Entertainment
Stories
Health
Sports
Science and Technology
Lost and Found news
Face-to-face discussions and interviews in studio with renowned personalities from the fields of music, entertainment, art and culture, industry, government and politics.

To encourage a sense of professional motivation and due recognition for their hard work and commitment, the reporters/journalists of Mukta Khabor are given a monthly honorarium ofTk. 1,500. Furthermore, all of their transportation costs to and from work are compensated, and while on assignments, all expenses are covered.

The MK team is divided into four groups (eight members per group). Each group works on a rota system designed to ensure that schoolwork is not disrupted in any way.

Achievements to Date:

As of January 21,2001, Mukta Khabor has successfully completed its first phase of production and has now broadcast more than 21 programs. Like ETVs National News, this young peoples' news also has a large and increasingly growing viewership across the country

Following the launch of Mukta Khabor, several NGOs and other various organizations dealing with adolescents have come forward to provide the team assistance. Several organizations have been supportive in providing story and news tips, while other organizations have extended support by offering accommodation, transport or food during location shooting. Similarly, governmental and private sector enterprises, as well as other educational institutions, have provided logistical support.

The MK team has also conducted investigations into stories about adolescent crime,child voilence and trafficking,healht and educational issues. Mukta Khabhor has interviewed people from all sectors in studio-based settings,including the Mayor of Dhaka City,Government Ministers,Intellectuals, Artists and many others. At one press conference, the prime Minister was cross-examined by an MK team.

In the Annandolok section, Mukta Kabhor is introducing many historical places to ETV's large auidence. This section highlights personal sucess stories of young people in many of the parts of Bangladesh.

In collaboration with scientific institutions and hospitals, the MK team reports on science and technology and cures for psychological problems.

Lost and Found is the most recent addition to the Mukta Khabor, which shows photos of missing children. This section was introduced following requests from families of the many children across the country who have disappeared. In some instances, the children were found after their absence had been broadcast by the show.

Mukta Khabor is a weekly program, but in some cases the MK. team is the first on the spot when it comes to breaking news. On several occasions, ETVs National News has used Mukta Khabor's footage to cover a story.

Looking to the Future:

Mukta Khabor is the only news-related program in Bangladesh produced by adolescents. While Mukta Khabor has established its voice nationally, it now seems likely to go international. Plans are currently underway for a world version - to incorporate young people's reports from across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

It is in this context that discussions have been held with a number of international broadcasters, including BBC World and APTN (Associated Press Television News), to find ways of distributing the programme to national networks in many countries.

Impact:

Mukta Khabor journalists are now being regarded as role models of their peers and friends. Several organizations. including schools and NGOs, have invited them to participate in group discussions and share their stories with other young people. At the family level, judging by letters and calls received, the attitude of many parents has changed immeasurably, enabling them'to regard their children and young people in general in a new light, breaking the stereotypical ideas that many have about their capacity and ability.

Mukta Khabor - Bangladesh's first news programme for and by young people - strides on, giving voice to the new generation of this country in a way that has never been seen or heard of before.

DO YOU KNOW

For the first time in India, the Rehabilitation Council of India has tied up with the M.P. Bhoj Open University to delivery a B.Ed. course in Special Education through the distance mode. The course is aimed at those working in the field of special education for the handicapped.

Offered throughout India, through the 51 study centres of the university, the course offers a unique opportunity for teacher training. More information can be had from the website at www.rehabcouncil.org

A National Seminar on the "Role of Media in Adult Education" was organized by the Indian Adult Education Association in collaboration with the Group on Adult Education, Jawaharlal Nehru University at India International Center, New Delhi recently.

In his address. Professor B.S. Garg, President of the Association pointed out that the media has a strong influence on the masses. He felt that folk media can play a key role in motivating and mobilizing the masses for literacy. Hon'ble Justice P.B. Sawant [Chief Guest] felt that in the present information age, where everyone can be reached through media, it can be effectively used to promote adult education programmes in the country.

Shri K..C. Choudhary, Secretary of the Association, commented on the importance of media, specially the print media in promoting the cause of adult education. Reviewing the achievements of the Association, he felt that with the active co-operation of members, the Association will be able to deploy media extensively for adult education programmes.

Source: University News 39(12), March 19-25, 2001

MoU in Distance Education

A Memorandum of Understanding between India's National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and the Distance Education Council (DEC) has been signed recently in Delhi to carry out various functions for the promotion of teacher education.

Under the agreement, NCTE and DEC will ensure coordinated and integrated development of teacher education under distance mode by maintaining norms and standards and also develop long term vision about using distance and open learning modalities for professional development of teachers and teacher educators.

A joint committee of NCTE and DEC has been constituted to guide these apex bodies on the gamut of issues pertaining to teacher education. They shall develop and implement the norms and standards for teacher education in distance mode for Diploma / Degree Post Graduate level studies in the field of teacher education
Source: The Hindu/14 May '01 p4

"Farmknow" to Help Vegetable Production

Farmers in Beijing's suburban areas have an Internet tool to help them with vegetable production practices. An innovative website called kt Farmknow " is providing content and advisory services on new vegetable varieties and crop management and protection.

Farmers, agricultural experts and systems engineers participated in contributing toward developing the pilot databas e system

The pilot project involved interviewing 60 farmers from four villages at Ba-Jia.Qian-Liu-Ma, and Hu-Ge-Zhuang, outside Beij ing for their experimental knowledge. The result is the design and implementation of the "BJ-FarmKnow" database system running on a MS Windows NT 4.0 server and which can generate valuable information when queried through a web browser. It has become the farmers' "Scientific and technological assistant and friend " in their pursuit of practical solutions to vegetable production.

After undergoing two years of development and testing. the Farmknow website now offers a unique set of information resources, farmers can search the ^Vegetable Hospital" for advice on treatment practices for over 70 different agricultural diseases and 30 kinds of insect pests common to the Beijing area. There is also a " Market Information"" section documenting prices for 140 seed varieties. Farming specialists are also on hand to answer e-mail queries directly from farmers.
Source: www.panasia.org.sg

Benchmarking Good Practices in ODL

The formation of an Andhra Pradesh Consortium on Distance Education was the outcome of a three day consultation on "Benchmarking Good Practices in Distance Education from May 7 to 9, 2001 at Hyderabad.

Six Vice Chancellors, several Directors of Distance Education Centres and eminent faculty from the different universities and four facilitators participated in the consultation jointly organised by The Commonwealth of Learning and the A.P. State Council for Higher Education.

The consultation focussed its attention on mainstreaming distance education in dual mode institutions and is one of many being facilitated throughout the region by COL.

NETWORK ABOVE THE CLOUDS........

It's not even 9.00am and already the first major headache has occurred for Dr Nyima Tashi, deputy director and associate professor at the Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Sciences (TAAAS). With hundreds of foreign guests rolling in for an international conference on yaks, not only is he getting everyone prepared, chairing sessions and doubling as a translator - he has to help a couple of presenters with computer problems. There are few computer distributors in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and nobody at the yak conference seems to have the needed piece of hardware. Thankfully, Dr Nyima Tashi is also one of the local experts when it comes to using the Internet, and manages to get the visitors connected so that they can download a backup presentation. It's then back to the conference, just in time to chair a session on the future of nomads.

So how does an agriculture and natural resources specialist become a Mr. Fix-it on the Internet? It's all part of Tibet's pioneering phase with the Internet, a phase that's largely a historical footnote by now for many other countries. Most of the universities and colleges here lack both computers and skilled people to use them, so the first stage of the project has been to equip a select group of research organizations with computers and provide training on how to use the Internet.

The project is called Pan Asia Networking Tibet (PAN Tibet) and follows a model that has been used successfully by IDRC in other parts of Asia. The PAN programme aims to promote the development of communications infrastructure and resources in the least developed countries of Asia by seed-funding existing organisations involved in networking.

Until permanent links are established, the newly trained staff are experimenting with dial-up connections using equipment provided through the PAN Tibet project funding. Already, each of the institutes has learned how to create a web site and is in the process of putting it online - and all have bigger plans for the future.

For example, Nyima Tsering, deputy president of the Traditional Medical College, knows that Tibetan medicine is hugely popular in other parts of the world and sees immediately that the Internet can be a useful medium in spreading its reach. He can even see a day when it will be possible for him to treat people and provide medical advice via email. But it may take some time before the college's vast source of reference works - some over 1,000 years old - makes it into digital format. "Many people from different countries have asked us for information but to date, it hasn't been easy to respond," Tsering explains. Nevertheless, the college makes every effort to preserve the valuable knowledge that in some cases is in oral rather than written format.

Tsering explains, for example, how when some visiting practitioners come to the centre for teaching and talks, the college will video-tape the sessions to try and preserve the information.

That upgrade may need to come sooner rather than later. Already there are plans to look into developing distance education over the Internet by building on the PAN Tibet project. It's also something that might prove useful in a country where S5 percent of the people are engaged in agriculture and live in rural areas. "There's no other technology that's cheaper." Nyima Drashi says. "We're spending too much money and time sending people away for training".

" Long-distance education could overcome this for a mass of people," he said. Tibet University also has plans to set up a remote education centre and has already submitted a proposal to the Education Ministry. There were also ideas about selling research institutions' publications on Pan Asia Networking's e-commerce mall.

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Enhancing The Exchange of Information in Education

A multimedia kit entitled UNESCO, 50 Years for Education consisting of a brochure and two CD-ROMs. With its selected collection of texts, films, videos and sound recordings, this kit retraces the evolution of key educational issues and of UNESCO's worldwide action in this area since 1946. It constitutes a unique source of information for policy-makers, teachers and researchers, as well as for youth, through its attractive multimedia content which links education and the related action on the Organization to major societal changes having occurred during the last half century.
Souce: www.uncsco.org

Asian - language speech recognition goes mainstream in Microsoft's new Office XP

The computer keyboard was never designed with ideogram-based languages such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean in mind. Chinese use some 6,000 characters. A full-size keyboard has 107 keys. You do the math.

For millions of east Asians, switching to English is not an option. Recently, however, alternatives to typing have emerged. The development of faster, more powerful microprocessors has brought speech and handwriting recognition, to desktop PCs. By using a stylus or microphone, Asian-language users can bypass the keyboard almost completely.

Due for release on May 31, Office XP, the latest update to Microsoli -. best-selling software suite, will come with speech-and-handwriting recognition tools built in. The target user is in East Asia.

Source; Asiaweek Vol. 27 No. 16

Bringing 3-D Animation to the Classroom
by Tressa Steffen Gipe

Three-D animation has become common in amusement parks, cartoons, video games and television commercials, but until recently, expensive production costs kept the broader use of interactive 3-D to a minimum. Through research and development in both the private sector and academia, costs for 3-D programmes have diminished with the introduction of PC based programmes that mimic the complex oral dynamics and subtle facial expressions of a human obeing. Many of these programmes can be run on most 95/98/00 Windows and Linux operating systems, and arc accessible to any one with 64 MB RAM and over.

At the Tuckcr-Mazon Oral School in Portland, Oregon, 3-D animation is being applied in the form of a computerized language tutor named Baldi. A wide-eyed, glossy cheeked fellow with rosy lips, the unassuming Baldi holds the distinction of being the most accurate computer generated copy of visible human speech in the world. Developed at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Baldi was designed on a principle that is intuitive to anyone who has begun a foreign language or taught a child to read: people leam language best by watching, hearing and doing.

Profoundly and partially deaf children at Tucker-V Maxon apply this same principle by watching Baldi form words, which they mimic with the assistance of Baldi's real time feedback. Baldi is also capable of showing internal teeth, tongue, and jaw movements to bring the most natural approximation of human speech possible. When using Baldi, many children are assisted by headphones connected to an acoustic nerve implant that converts sounds into electrical stimuli, which are then relayed to parts of the brain responsible for decoding sound and language. Baldi can also be adapted to each student's needs depending on the level of development or severity of disability. Coupled with supplemental language training, Baldi is yielding impressive improvements in lip reading, pronunciation and fluency skills for children at Tucker Maxon and elsewhere

Clearly interactive 3-D programmes like Baldi have applications to other children with disabilities. Animated 3-D programmes are also helpful to children with social disorders such as autism, which commonly manifests an inability to develop normal social communicative abilities and in some cases, visuospatial skills. In particular, many autistic children will use single words, phrase sentences as questions, engage in echolalia (speech imitation) and echopraxia (movement imitation), all of which create awkwardness for social interactions with others. However, 3-D programmes can at least provide vocabulary building, facial expression, and pronunication exercises to facilitate their interactions with the outside world. Three D programmes can also be used by people with dyslexia, stroke related aphasia and common speech impediments to improve language skills.

As the technology develops, it will ccrtainiy have broader applications in educational and business settings where teaching and training are conducted. For instance, a business could use a 3-D tutor to train employees in bask: business Japanese before they go abroad to present products. A school could train students to expand vocabulary through drills with a 3-D image that gives feedback with synonyms, antonyms, or examples of the word in a sentence. All the possibilities sound exciting, but it remains to be seen if people will be confortable with non human entities interacting with them on such a sophisticated level.
Source: www.TechKnowlogia.org

Software

MEDLIB: An Electronic Media Library Management Software which automates cataloguing, classifying and storage and retrieval of Audio and Video Programmes including stockshots. Centres producing audio and video programmes, are faced with a daily problem of inventory of tapes and other non-print materials, storage and retrieval of programmes and stock shots for capsuling and production. It is essential for any production centre which cries out for computerization and yet, there seems to be no standard software for ready use.

CEMCA in collaboration with EMPC, IGNOU had taken the initiative to create a specially designed software for non-print audio and video resources and commissioned INFOTEL, India to do the task. Called MEDLIB, this software is a specially designed software on a Windows platform, fully Y2K. compliant, easy to use, enables search on a large number of parameters, from title, content, subject, producer, scriptwriter, etc.

It also enables classification and cataloguing of stock shots, helps your media librarian in classification of programmes, inventory, issue and retrieval, preparation of progress reports and helps your producer to search for stock shots and determine quality of stored material. The software is priced at Rs 20, 000 for educational institutions. For your evaluation,M/S INFOTEL SOFTWARE, can provide you with a demonstration CD on request.

For detailed information contact:

Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for ASIA ( CEMCA)
52, Tughlakabad Inst. Area, New Delhi
Fax: 91 11 6085208 Tel: 91 11 6096730
E-mail : cemca@nda.vsnl.net.in
or
M/S INFOTEL SOFTWARE,
F-18B, Saket, New Delhi 110017.
Tel : 011 6567308 Fax : 011-6858412
E-mail: infosoft@nda.vsnl.net.in

BroadCast Asia 2001

The 13th Asian International Communication, and Information Technology Exhibition and Conference. Held with three specialized events, CabIeSat, Professional Audio Technology and ComGraphic^-& Animation Broadcast Asia 2001 will feature a truly comprehensive electronic media technology showcase.
Venue: Singapore Expo
Contact: Web- www.broadcast-asia.com
Email - events@sesmontnet.com

A. A. 0. U. Annual Conference

XV Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities Access & Equity - Challenges for Open and Distance Learning
Venue: New Delhi, India
Date: 24th to 26th October, 2001
Hosted by: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU )

Workshop on Multi-media Courseware Development for Distance Education

The latest in the series of workshops on Multimedia Courseware Development for Distance Education conducted by CEMCA is planned jointly with the Open University of Sri Lanka. The workshop is targeted to training of academics in the production of multimedia materials.
Venue: OUSL, Sri Lanka
Dates July 31 -August 20 2001
Contact Person: Dr. Buddhi Weerasinghe,
Director ET, OUSL

Do you Know !
Intel's Latest Creation ...!

Computer chip giant Intel has said it has succeeded in creating a computer chip that includes the core circuitry of a cell phone and a hand-held computer etched into its surface.

"Within the next five to ten years, we should not be surprised to see devices such as wearable computers or even video watch phones become widely available." said Senior Vice President of Intel's wireless division.
Source : AFP / The Times of India 18/5/01